Iraq Business News brings you the latest news on developments and opportunities in Iraq agriculture.
Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture will cultivate six million doumns [1.5 million hectares] of land to produce 48 percent of the country's wheat demand, according to AKnews. This is the equivalent of 2.2 million tons of wheat, said general director of investment projects at the ministry Sabah Dar'e. Iraq requires more than four million tons of […]
Iraq plans to buy 30,000 metric tons of basmati rice from India and Pakistan, according to a report from Bloomberg. Fawziyeh Hameed, a spokeswoman for the Trade Ministry, told the news agency that the deadline for suppliers to submit bids is April 22. Bids should be valid until April 26. Iraq reportedly bought 53,000 tons […]
By Layth Mahdi, Agricultural Advisor. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi people are like a camel eating grass and carrying gold! Despite the huge oil budget (more than $100 billion/year), poverty and unemployment are the major issues facing the Government of […]
Iraq plans to produce 4.5 million tons of wheat, and substantial increases in other cereals, according to a report from Azzaman. This would mean the country would meet its domestic requirements of around 3.5 million tons, with a 1 million ton surplus available to export. The Undersecretary at the Agriculture Ministry, Ghazi al-Aboudi, said the […]
The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry has reportedly 'demanded' that the ministries of planning and finance increase the Palm General Authority's allocations from 4bn to 8bn IQD ($3.4m to $6.8m) to ensure the success of the annual plan for the development of palm groves. According to AKnews, Kamel Mukhlab, the director general of the authority, said they […]
Payment for wheat exports to Iraq in the late 1980s will finally be distributed to growers in Australia, according to a report from Weekly Times Now. Grain growers will share in about $48m in repayment of debt owed by Iraq relating to three wheat pools run by the former Australian Wheat Board, and affecting 52,000 […]
Food and goods prices in Baghdad are rising as the Arab summit approaches, reports AKnews. A member of the Iraqi parliament's finance committee said citizens have started to complain about the hike in prices, adding that the government should take action to stabilize market prices. One resident told the news agency that "rising food and […]
Dow Jones reports that the Iraqi Grain Board bought 300,000 metric tons of Canadian wheat from a tender which closed on 13th March 13. The head of the board, Hassan Ismail Ibrahim, told the agency that: 100,000 tons were bought from Jordan-registered Jresat at $361/ton cost and freight; 100,000 tons from Glencore International at $356/ton […]
By Bob Nottelmann, crop production specialist with California Pacific Plant Exports (Cal Pacific) and Ekland Marketing of California (Emco). My colleague, Roy Ekland and I worked as short term technical advisers for the USAID Agribusiness project (Inma) in Iraq. As a result of our work and Inma's support, commercial strawberry production is now a lucrative […]
The Australian ambassador to Baghdad, Lyndall Sachs (pictured), said her country supports the lifting of United Nation's Chapter VII sanctions on Iraq, a decision on which is expected to be made by the UN Security Council in June. Sachs said: "My country has good relations with Iraq, in particular [because] it received the largest Iraqi communities […]
Iraq's wheat crop is expected to decline further if rains do not arrive soon, according to a report from BlackSeaGrain. Although some small showers have helped the crop, wheat yields are already down by 11 per cent on the last seasons crop. If the rains do not arrive Iraq will most likely need to increase […]
The Iraqi Trade Ministry has reportedly signed a contract with the Egyptian company Arma for the purchase of 25,000 tons of vegetable oil. Hashem Hatam, the Foreign economic relations chief at the ministry, told AKnews that the oil will be distributed to civilians through the food rationing program. The quantity is sufficient for only three […]
